Brian, Abby, and I had a very nice trip to Maui. I thought I'd give you the highlights:
We arrived to our nice little hotel room in the evening after traveling for 10 hours total. Abby had not been able to run around since leaving home in Seattle, so she was giddy, just running around the hotel room like a crazed animal.
I started my conference the next morning, and Brian and Abby started their daily routine: sleeping in until 9 or 10am, eating breakfast in the room, and heading out to the kiddie pool or beach just outside of our room. Abby LOVED the beach, the sand, the water rushing under her feet, and the waves crashing at her torso. She was adventurous and independent. When I got back at noon, we'd play, eat lunch, and take afternoon naps. My conference ended Friday, and we had 4 more days to play before heading home.
O'o Farms is an organic small farm in the up country that supplies 4 of Maui's gourmet restaurants with their fresh produce. They took us on a tour, picking fruit and veggies for us to sample, explaining their sustainable farming practices and organic farming process. Abby loved trying the produce. She ran aournd, picked up rocks, dug in the dirt, and tried to eat some flowers! She was the only baby there. They picked veggies for lunch as we toured, while the chef began preparing the meal of fresh mahi mahi, salads, veggies, fruit, and homemade dark chocolate. At lunch the adults marveled at Abby's wide palate. In fact, Abby was a better eater than most of the adults at the table, giving everything a try and liking most of it.
We went to a Luau one night. Abby learned how to clap, and she was awed by the fire dancers. She ate corn on the cob like a pro. It was pretty "touristy", but we were glad we went. Out other touristy activity was a glass bottom boat ride on which divers brought octopus, puffer fish, and other neat sea creatures up for us to see. It was pretty cool, but Abby wasn't really into that ride. She much more preferred the Maui Aquarium with bright tanks and colorful fish. It rained the day of the aquarium trip, and her favorite part was running out in the warm rain.
The windy road up the Haleakula volcano to watch the sunset was scary for me! It was misty, the road was tiny and twisty, and in many spots on the edge of a cliff. I got super car sick, but once we made it up above the cloud line, I was awe struck by the shear beauty of the mountain and the view. There was a group of Japanese people who just loved seeing Abby up there. They ran up to her to touch her and get their picture taken with her. We went from 75 degrees and sunny to 35 degrees and cloudy. It was so cold! Despite that, we had a very nice time watching the sun set above the clouds. Unforgettable. Wow.
Our absolute favorite trip was the Road to Hana. We stopped for the helpful road guide, smoothies, and a packed lunch. Our first stop was Twin Falls where we all swam in the cool water fall pool. Abby inspected the rocks, picking each up before chucking it back in the water. Brian taught me how to skip stones on the water. We stopped at two more waterfalls, a beach with black pebble sand, fresh water caves, blow holes, and look-outs to watch whales and surfers. By the time we got back, we'd spent over 12 hours on our trip. We were dirty, exhausted, and totally happy.
Abby tends to make development leaps when on vacation. On this trip she had many firsts: growled like a bear, said "tar" for guitar, pooped in the toilet, imitated chewing gum and mommies flip flop shoes noise, said "nanna for banana, and fed birds on the patio. She said "Hi" (sounded like, "ha"). She really started running and even tried to jump. She was really lovey with lots of hugs and kisses.
Vacation can be so renewing and relaxing. It was new for Brian and I to take a long vacation with a baby. And while it was not the most relaxing of times, this vacation really bonded us together as a family. We're still feeling the effects of our fun trip!
Love,
Diana
